Dear Abby

DEAR ABBY JEANNE PHILLIPS

November 13, 2002|JEANNE PHILLIPS

Dear Abby: VISION USA, a free eye-care program for low-income, working Americans, is accepting applications and examinations year-round.

To qualify for free eye care through VISION USA, individuals must be working or be part of a household with one member who is working at least part-time, have no insurance that covers eye examinations, an income below an established level based on household size, and not have had an eye exam in the past 24 months.

Dear Dr. Cummings: I am pleased to publicize this worthwhile program. Since VISION USA began in 1991, more than 314,000 individuals have benefited from this free service.

Readers can register by calling toll-free: 800-766-4466, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time. Application forms are also available from VISION USA, 243 Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141, or on the AOA Web site: www.aoa.org/visionusa.

Dear Abby: My brother has been seeing this girl for less than a year, but we seem to have become friends. Recently her grandfather passed away.

I have a strong aversion to funerals and go only if I "have to." Everyone knows this about me.

My brother called me a couple of days after the funeral, yelling at me because I didn't attend. I was waiting to call his girlfriend until after everything settled, because I know how crazy it is when someone in your immediate family passes away. Was I completely wrong in not going? -- K.D. in Crest Hill, Ill.

Dear K.D.: Your mistake wasn't in skipping the funeral. It was in not immediately reaching out and offering sympathy to your brother's girlfriend for her loss. Since "everyone" knows you have an aversion to funerals, your brother should not have yelled at you. However, I can understand his being upset that you didn't acknowledge the fact that his girlfriend -- and your new friend -- had lost a loved one.